"2 hours ago ... Kentucky freshman forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will enter the 2012 NBA draft after the Wildcats' season ends, ... Back in early March, Kidd-Gilchrist told reporters he would forgo the lures of the draft and stay in school."

"2 hours ago ... Kentucky freshman forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will enter the 2012 NBA draft after the Wildcats' season ends, ... Back in early March, Kidd-Gilchrist told reporters he would forgo the lures of the draft and stay in school."

Kabongo would be foolish to enter this year's draft, especially not being guaranteed as a first round selection. He's getting some bad advice. He needs to stay that extra year at UT. He'll have a much better season next year.

Kabongo would be foolish to enter this year's draft, especially not being guaranteed as a first round selection. He's getting some bad advice. He needs to stay that extra year at UT. He'll have a much better season next year.

i think he probably feels pretty confident he wouldn't slip past us in the second round and then would most likely make the team and get a contract. even if we didn't select him at 34-37 i couldn't see him slipping past us at indi' selection.

Kabongo would be foolish to enter this year's draft, especially not being guaranteed as a first round selection. He's getting some bad advice. He needs to stay that extra year at UT. He'll have a much better season next year.

The draft is still 94 days away. Thats a LOONG time for him to change his mind. And if he's projected at going First Round after workouts (which I bet he will be doing) I can't see him turning it down.

The draft is still 94 days away. Thats a LOONG time for him to change his mind. And if he's projected at going First Round after workouts (which I bet he will be doing) I can't see him turning it down.

Thats for Early Entry eligibility, no?
The final Declaration date is 10 days before the Draft. I think.
They just can't sign with an agent before then, otherwise they lose NCAA eligibility. I think.

This was posted in the draft thread but I forget who originally posted it:

The main change that occurred this year involves the NCAA's unilaterally imposed “early-entry withdrawal deadline” of April 10th.

According to NCAA Proposal No. 2010-24, “student-athletes interested in 'testing the waters' of the NBA draft [are required] to remove their name from consideration before the first day of the spring National Letter of Intent signing period.”

The first day of the spring National Letter of Intent signing period is April 11th this year, meaning that any player that makes himself eligible for the NBA draft before then must remove it by April 10th in order to retain his collegiate eligibility.

Last year college players had until May 8th to evaluate their professional options, which gave them about a week to work out for NBA teams and gather feedback about their NBA draft stock. College players (like their international counterparts, who are not bound by the NCAA's rules) used to have until ten days before the draft (this year June 18th) to do their research and gather as much information as possible before making such an important decision for their future.

What this essentially means is that there is no more “testing the waters” anymore.

The reason for this change, in the NCAA's words is: “to help keep student-athletes focused on academics in the spring term and to give coaches a better idea of their roster for the coming year before the recruiting period is closed.”

The biggest issue with this new “early entry intention” date of April 10 is that it falls approximately three weeks before the NBA's own early-entry deadline of April 29th. Until the NBA officially disperses their list of underclassmen who have made themselves eligible for the NBA draft, teams cannot have any type of contact with those players, which obviously includes pre-draft workouts.

Since the NCAA bars third parties (even family members) of college players from reaching out to NBA teams to discuss their draft stock and the NBA itself has strict no-contact rules regarding the way teams can communicate with players who are not officially draft-eligible (before the early-entry list is released in early May), the only way an underclassman can gather information about his draft stock is through his college head coach. Furthermore, the head coach is only allowed to talk with the principal basketball operations executive from each team (ie: the general manager), according to NBA rules, and the underclassman may not participate in or be present during any such conversation.

What's important to note (and has been widely misreported in the media), is that requesting an evaluation from the advisory committee does not constitute entering the draft. In fact, the application form explicitly states that “this application is not a declaration of eligibility for the 2012 NBA draft. A separate letter must be sent to Commission David Stern (received by April 29, 2012) declaring eligibility for the 2012 NBA draft. An application form for the 2012 NBA draft will be sent upon receipt of the letter of declaration.”

What that means is that, theoretically, a college player could still wait until April 29th to enter the NBA draft, as these are two separate deadlines, and there seemingly is no benefit at all to entering his name before, particularly since he will lose his NCAA eligibility if he does not remove it before April 10th.

For example if a player seriously injures himself between April 11th and April 29th, but had already sent a letter to David Stern declaring their eligibility for the 2012 NBA Draft, that player would be ineligible to return to school.

While college coaches would obviously love to have all of their answers regarding who will or will not return to their team by April 10th, so they can start their vacation early or get an early jump on next season, realistically there is no reason why an underclassmen wouldn't continue to privately investigate their NBA draft stock until April 29th.